U.S. patent number 8,686,867 [Application Number 12/778,614] was granted by the patent office on 2014-04-01 for abnormal discharge alarm device for steam trap.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Industrial Technology Research Institute. The grantee listed for this patent is I-Te Huang, Jing-Lyang Jeng, Jung-Huang Liao. Invention is credited to I-Te Huang, Jing-Lyang Jeng, Jung-Huang Liao.
United States Patent |
8,686,867 |
Liao , et al. |
April 1, 2014 |
Abnormal discharge alarm device for steam trap
Abstract
An abnormal discharge alarm device is applied in a steam trap.
The steam trap is installed in a pipeline of a steam system. The
abnormal discharge alarm device includes a power generation
component and a control circuit. The power generation component
receives a fluid discharged from the steam trap and generates a
self-generated electric power. The control circuit receives and
detects the self-generated electric power to obtain a detection
result. The control circuit sends an alarm signal when the
detection result is greater than a predetermined threshold value.
In addition, the abnormal discharge alarm device may further
include a monitoring unit. The control circuit transmits the
detection result to the monitoring unit. The monitoring unit
obtains an updated threshold value according to accumulated
detection results, and determines whether to send an alarm after
comparing the updated threshold value with a real-time detection
result.
Inventors: |
Liao; Jung-Huang (Zhubei,
TW), Huang; I-Te (Hsinchu, TW), Jeng;
Jing-Lyang (Zhubei, TW) |
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Liao; Jung-Huang
Huang; I-Te
Jeng; Jing-Lyang |
Zhubei
Hsinchu
Zhubei |
N/A
N/A
N/A |
TW
TW
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Industrial Technology Research
Institute (Hsinchu, TW)
|
Family
ID: |
44655761 |
Appl.
No.: |
12/778,614 |
Filed: |
May 12, 2010 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20110234418 A1 |
Sep 29, 2011 |
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Foreign Application Priority Data
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Mar 26, 2010 [TW] |
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99109259 A |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
340/679; 73/1.73;
702/51; 340/605; 340/603 |
Current CPC
Class: |
F16T
1/48 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G08B
21/00 (20060101); G01F 19/00 (20060101); G01F
17/00 (20060101) |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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0972982 |
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Oct 2004 |
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EP |
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1114279 |
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Dec 2005 |
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EP |
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2457924 |
|
Sep 2009 |
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GB |
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2003343794 |
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Dec 2003 |
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JP |
|
2008230273 |
|
Oct 2008 |
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JP |
|
2008256171 |
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Oct 2008 |
|
JP |
|
2010013955 |
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Jan 2010 |
|
JP |
|
I357358 |
|
Feb 2012 |
|
TW |
|
Other References
Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C.,
"Office Action", Aug. 30, 2012, Taiwan. cited by applicant .
Japan Patent Office, "Office Action", May 22, 2012, Japan. cited by
applicant .
Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs, R.O.C.,
"Office Action", Feb. 27, 2013, Taiwan. cited by applicant.
|
Primary Examiner: Zimmerman; Brian
Assistant Examiner: Alizada; Omeed
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Morris Manning & Martin LLP
Xia, Esq.; Tim Tingkang
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An abnormal discharge alarm device for a steam trap, applied in
a steam trap having a discharge port for discharging a fluid, the
abnormal discharge alarm device comprising: a power generation
component, comprising: a housing, connected to the discharge port
and having a plurality of induction coils; a rotor, pivoted to the
housing, rotating by receiving the fluid from the discharge port,
and further having a plurality of magnetic elements, wherein the
induction coils cut magnetic lines of force of the magnetic
elements to generate an induced electric power when the rotor
rotates; and a rectification and voltage regulation circuit, for
performing rectification and voltage regulation on the induced
electric power to obtain a self-generated electric power; and a
control circuit, having a predetermined threshold value, the
control circuit receiving and detecting the self-generated electric
power to obtain a detection result, and sending an alarm signal
when the detection result exceeds the predetermined threshold
value.
2. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 1,
further comprising an alarm lamp, for receiving the self-generated
electric power, and emitting a light ray when receiving the alarm
signal.
3. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 1,
further comprising: a signal transfer module, for receiving and
transmitting the alarm signal; and a monitoring unit, for receiving
the alarm signal transmitted by the signal transfer module, and
sending an alarm corresponding to the alarm signal.
4. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 3,
wherein the control circuit transmits the detection result to the
monitoring unit through the signal transfer module, the monitoring
unit collects and analyzes statistics regarding the detection
result to obtain an updated threshold value, the monitoring unit
transmits the updated threshold value to the control circuit
through the signal transfer module, and the control circuit
replaces the predetermined threshold value with the received
updated threshold value.
5. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 4,
wherein the control circuit further has an identifier, and the
control circuit transmits the identifier to the monitoring unit
together when transmitting the detection result or sending the
alarm signal.
6. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 3,
wherein the monitoring unit has a learning mode and a monitoring
mode, when the monitoring unit is set to the learning mode, the
monitoring unit obtains an intermittent frequency range according
to the collected detection result, when the monitoring unit is set
to the monitoring mode, the monitoring unit obtains an intermittent
frequency value according to the collected detection result, and
when the intermittent frequency value does not fall within the
intermittent frequency range, the monitoring unit sends an
intermittent abnormal signal.
7. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 6,
wherein when the monitoring unit is set to the learning mode, the
monitoring unit obtains a discharge duration range according to the
collected detection result, when the monitoring unit is set to the
monitoring mode, the monitoring unit obtains a discharge duration
according to the collected detection result, and when the discharge
duration does not fall within the discharge duration range, the
monitoring unit sends a discharge abnormal signal.
8. The abnormal discharge alarm device according to claim 7,
wherein when the monitoring unit is set to the learning mode, the
monitoring unit obtains an upper limit of non-discharge duration
according to the collected detection result, when the monitoring
unit is set to the monitoring mode, the monitoring unit obtains a
non-discharge duration according to the collected detection result,
and when the non-discharge duration exceeds the upper limit of
non-discharge duration, the monitoring unit sends a non-discharge
abnormal signal.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This non-provisional application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(a) on Patent Application No(s). 099109259 filed in
Taiwan, R.O.C. on Mar. 26, 2010, the entire contents of which are
hereby incorporated by reference.
BACKGROUND
1. Field
The present invention relates to an abnormal discharge alarm
device, and more particularly to a device capable of generating an
abnormal discharge alarm without requiring supply of power.
2. Related Art
A steam trap is applied in a steam system. During operation of the
steam system, steam, condensate water, and gas usually exist in a
pipeline. Major functions of the steam trap are to (a) prevent the
steam from leaking from the pipeline, (b) remove condensate water
of the system, and (c) discharge uncondensable gas. If the steam
trap used is not suitable for the steam system or is in abnormal
operation, serious consequences such as water hammer, ineffective
heat transfer, steam leakage and system corrosion might occur.
After the steam trap is installed in the steam system, the steam
trap discharges the condensate water or uncondensable gas with a
valve at a suitable time according to a state of the system and
prevents undesired steam leakage. Relatively frequent failures of
the steam trap include: (a) valve closure failure after drainage,
(b) drainage failure due to valve blockage, and (c) steam
leakage.
In order to know whether the steam trap operates normally in
advance, persons in this art have proposed failure diagnosis
technologies, such as UK Patent Application No. GB2457924,
published on Sep. 2, 2009, entitled "Steam Trap Monitoring", and
U.S. Pat. No. 6,644,131, issued on Nov. 11, 2003, entitled "Steam
Trap Instrument Module".
In the former one, a temperature or pressure difference of the
steam trap is measured, and failure diagnosis is performed
according to the temperature or pressure difference, so as to
predict a failure that might occur to the steam trap. In the latter
one, a ball float steam trap is disclosed, which includes a
pressure sensor, a temperature sensor and an eddy current
displacement sensor, and the steam trap is diagnosed using signals
returned by the sensors.
Although a current state of the steam trap can be sensed and
diagnosis can thus be performed on the steam trap in the prior art,
in practical factory applications, due to cost considerations, a
maintainer seldom replaces the steam trap according to a prediction
that a failure might occur to the steam trap, but usually replaces
a failed steam trap when an anomaly occurs to the steam trap. In
addition, if it is desired to continuously monitor the state of the
steam trap, circuit wiring needs to be provided at all portions in
the whole steam system that are arranged with steam traps, and the
electric power required for continuous monitoring does not meet the
requirements of environmental protection, energy saving, and carbon
reduction.
SUMMARY
In view of the above problems, the present invention is an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap, which is capable of
generating an electric power by using a discharged fluid, and
sending an alarm signal in the event of an abnormal discharge,
thereby achieving effects of energy saving and abnormal alarming at
the same time.
In an embodiment, the present invention provides an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap, which is applied in a
steam trap having a discharge port. The abnormal discharge alarm
device comprises a power generation component and a control
circuit. The power generation component is connected to the
discharge port and receives a fluid discharged from the discharge
port. The power generation component generates a self-generated
electric power when receiving the fluid. The control circuit has a
predetermined threshold value. The control circuit receives and
detects the self-generated electric power to obtain a detection
result. When the detection result exceeds a predetermined threshold
value, the control circuit sends an alarm signal.
In an embodiment, the abnormal discharge alarm device for the steam
trap further comprises an alarm element. The alarm element receives
the self-generated electric power and sends an alarm when receiving
the alarm signal. The alarm may be a light ray or a sound.
In an embodiment, the power generation component comprises a
housing, a rotor, and a rectification and voltage regulation
circuit. The housing is connected to the discharge port and has a
plurality of induction coils. The rotor is pivoted to the housing
and rotates by receiving the fluid from the discharge port. The
rotor further has a plurality of magnetic elements. The coils cut
magnetic lines of force of the magnetic elements to generate an
induced electric power when the rotor rotates. The rectification
and voltage regulation circuit performs rectification and voltage
regulation on the induced electric power to obtain the
self-generated electric power.
In another embodiment, the abnormal discharge alarm device for the
steam trap further comprises a signal transfer module and a
monitoring unit. The signal transfer module receives and transmits
the alarm signal. The monitoring unit receives the alarm signal
transmitted by the signal transfer module and sends an alarm
corresponding to the alarm signal.
In another embodiment, the control circuit transmits the detection
result to the monitoring unit through the signal transfer module.
The monitoring unit collects and analyzes statistics regarding the
detection result to obtain an updated threshold value. The
monitoring unit transmits the updated threshold value to the
control circuit through the signal transfer module. The control
circuit replaces the predetermined threshold value with the
received updated threshold value.
In another embodiment, the monitoring unit has a learning mode and
a monitoring mode. When the monitoring unit is set to the learning
mode, the monitoring unit obtains an intermittent frequency range,
a discharge duration range and an upper limit of non-discharge
duration according to the collected detection result. When the
monitoring unit is set to the monitoring mode, the monitoring unit
obtains an intermittent frequency value, a discharge duration, and
a non-discharge duration according to the collected detection
result. The monitoring unit sends a corresponding abnormal signal
when the intermittent frequency value does not fall within the
intermittent frequency range, or when the discharge duration does
not fall within the discharge duration range, or when the
non-discharge duration exceeds the upper limit of non-discharge
duration.
Through the power generation component and the control circuit of
the abnormal discharge alarm device, the abnormal discharge alarm
device can generate a self-generated electric power by using the
fluid discharged by the steam trap, the self-generated electric
power is supplied to the control circuit, and the control circuit
determines whether the discharge is an abnormal discharge according
to the detection result, and if yes, sends an alarm. In addition,
in another embodiment of the abnormal discharge alarm device, the
monitoring unit can collect and analyze the detection result to
obtain statistical data and determine whether the steam trap is in
a normal operating state more precisely.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The present invention will become more fully understood from the
detailed description given herein below for illustration only, and
thus are not limitative of the present invention, and wherein:
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a steam trap applying an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the abnormal
discharge alarm device for the steam trap according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded cross-sectional view of the abnormal
discharge alarm device for the steam trap according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of the abnormal discharge alarm
device for the steam trap according to the first embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit block diagram of the abnormal
discharge alarm device for the steam trap according to the first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a second
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a third
embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a steam trap applying an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a first
embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 1, an
abnormal discharge alarm device 20 is arranged at a discharge port
96 of a steam trap 90. The steam trap 90 is a disk-type steam trap
(or referred to as a thermodynamic steam trap). In addition, the
steam trap 90 may also be, but not limited to, a ball float steam
trap, an inverted bucket steam trap, or a temperature sensitive
steam trap (bimetallic).
The steam trap 90 has an air inlet 94, a discharge port 96, and a
filter 92. The steam trap 90 is arranged in a pipeline of a steam
system, receives a fluid from the pipeline through the air inlet
94, and discharges the fluid through the discharge port 96. During
normal operation, the steam trap 90 has the following discharge
modes: (1) when the temperature of the steam in the pipeline
decreases, the steam trap 90 discharges condensed water generated
due to the temperature difference through the discharge port 96,
and the discharge is generally intermittent; (2) condensate water
is sometimes intermittently discharged as flash steam after
entering the air instantly; and (3) when uncondensable gas exists
in the pipeline, the uncondensable gas is discharged through the
discharge port 96 together with the condensate water. Therefore,
the fluid discharged through the discharge port 96 may be
condensate water, steam, or uncondensable gas. The fluid may be at
a high or low pressure, and the discharged fluid may be in a liquid
or gaseous state.
Next, reference is made to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a schematic
cross-sectional view of the abnormal discharge alarm device for the
steam trap according to the first embodiment of the present
invention, and FIG. 3 is a schematic exploded cross-sectional view
of the abnormal discharge alarm device for the steam trap according
to the first embodiment of the present invention.
The abnormal discharge alarm device 20 comprises a power generation
component (the detailed structure will be illustrated below) and a
control circuit 30. The power generation component is connected to
the discharge port 96 through a connecting portion 230 and receives
the fluid from the discharge port 96. When receiving the fluid, the
power generation component generates a self-generated electric
power.
The control circuit 30 has a predetermined threshold value. The
control circuit 30 receives and detects the self-generated electric
power to obtain a detection result. When the detection result
exceeds the predetermined threshold value, the control circuit
sends an alarm signal. The predetermined threshold value, the
detection result, and the alarm signal will be illustrated below.
The predetermined threshold value may be stored in any memory in
the control circuit 30. The memory may be a built-in memory in a
controller or an external memory, for example, but not limited to,
an electrically-erasable programmable read-only memory
(EEPROM).
The power generation component comprises a base body 232, a rotor
25, and a rectification and voltage regulation circuit 28. The base
body 232 is connected to the connecting portion 230 to form a
housing 23. The base body 232 is arranged with a plurality of
induction coils 26. Therefore, a combination of the base body 232
and the induction coils 26 may also be referred to as a stator.
The rotor 25 is pivoted to the housing 23 through bearings 24a and
24b. The rotor 25 receives the fluid from the discharge port 96 and
rotates as driven by the fluid. That is to say, no matter whether
the discharge port 96 is in normal operation or abnormal operation,
the rotor 25 can be driven to rotate as long as the fluid flows
out. The rotor 25 has magnetic elements 250 and blades 252. The
blades 252 are annularly arranged at an inner side of a hollow
cylindrical wall of the rotor 25. Such an arrangement mode can be
seen from FIG. 4. The blades 252 of the rotor 25 may be, but not
limited to, of an axial flow type, a centrifugal type, a solid
shaft type or a hollow shaft type. The magnetic elements 250 may
be, but not limited to, permanent magnets.
FIG. 5 is a schematic circuit block diagram of the abnormal
discharge alarm device for the steam trap according to the first
embodiment of the present invention. After the rotor 25 rotates,
magnetic fields of the magnetic elements 250 are cut by the
induction coils 26. The induction coils 26 generate an induced
electric power after cutting magnetic lines of force of the
magnetic fields. The rectification and voltage regulation circuit
28 receives the induced electric power and performs rectification
and voltage regulation on the induced electric power, so as to
output the self-generated electric power. The rectification and
voltage regulation circuit 28 may be, but not limited to, a
combination of a bridge rectifier circuit and a zener diode.
After the self-generated electric power is generated, the
self-generated electric power is output to the control circuit 30.
The control circuit 30 may be a circuit without any external power
supply. Therefore, after the self-generated electric power is
generated, the control circuit 30 can start operating. The abnormal
discharge alarm device 20 may further comprise an alarm element 29.
The alarm element 29 may be an indicator lamp or an alarm lamp. If
the alarm element 29 is an indicator lamp (or referred to as a
discharge indicator lamp), the indicator lamp can emit a light ray
upon reception of the self-generated electric power, so as to
notify a maintainer or an operator that the steam trap 90 is
discharging a fluid. If the alarm element 29 is an alarm lamp, the
alarm lamp does not emit a light ray until reception of the
self-generated electric power and the alarm signal, so that when
the maintainer or operator sees the light ray emitted by the alarm
lamp, it indicates that an abnormal discharge occurs. In addition,
the alarm element 29 may also be an alarm, and the alarm emits a
sound after receiving the self-generated electric power and the
alarm signal, so that the maintainer or operator knows that an
abnormal discharge occurs.
Before illustrating setting of the predetermined threshold value,
operating modes (comprising a failure state) of the steam trap 90
are illustrated through experiments and experience. The operating
modes of the steam trap 90 are approximately divided as follows:
Mode One, intermittent steam or condensate water discharge; Mode
Two, complete blockage; and Mode Three, continuous steam discharge.
In Mode One, the discharge duration of steam or condensate water is
related to the installation position of the steam trap 90 and the
characteristics of the steam system, and the discharge duration may
be shorter than 1 second or up to several seconds. Mode Two and
Mode Three are failure states. In Mode Two, no discharge occurs for
a long time, and in Mode Three, a discharge occurs for a long time.
The duration of the continuous non-discharge or discharge is also
related to the installation position of the steam trap 90 and the
characteristics of the steam system.
Generally, a plurality of steam traps 90 is disposed in the steam
system. Each steam trap 90 is individually disposed at different
positions in the pipeline of the steam system. Through experience,
discharge operations of steam traps 90 disposed at the same
position are the same. That is to say, when the same steam trap 90
is disposed in the pipeline, the steam trap 90 generally performs a
discharge in Mode One during normal operation. If the discharge
mode of the same steam trap 90 is changed after the same steam trap
90 is used for a period of time, a failure might occur to the steam
trap 90. Therefore, after the steam trap 90 is installed, an
intermittent frequency, a duration of each discharge, and a closing
duration (non-discharge) after each discharge during normal
operation of the steam trap 90 can be known through observation.
Then, according to an observation result, an average value of the
durations of the discharges is set as the predetermined threshold
value.
The power generation component of the abnormal discharge alarm
device 20 generates the self-generated electric power when a
discharge occurs at the discharge port 96 of the steam trap 90. The
self-generated electric power is supplied to the control circuit 30
and starts the control circuit 30, so that the control circuit 30
performs duration calculation. When a continuous discharge duration
calculated by the control circuit 30 is greater than the
predetermined threshold value, an alarm signal is sent. In such a
manner, the objective of abnormal alarming is achieved.
The predetermined threshold value may also be a sum of an average
value plus a triple standard deviation obtained by analyzing
statistics regarding durations of a certain number of discharges,
or a value obtained by other statistical methods. For example, the
predetermined threshold value is, but not limited to, an upper
limit at a confidence level of 95%. The predetermined threshold
value may further be a range (that is, the control circuit 30 has
two threshold values), for example, a range between an average
value plus and minus a triple standard deviation obtained by
analyzing statistics regarding durations of a certain number of
discharges. In such a manner, when the detection result of the
control circuit 30 (current discharge duration) exceeds the
predetermined threshold value (range), the control circuit 30 sends
an alarm signal. That is, if the current discharge duration is
shorter than the a lower limit of the predetermined threshold value
or longer than an upper limit of the predetermined threshold value,
it indicates that the discharge of the steam trap 90 is already
different from the normal operating state and the maintainer has to
repair the steam trap 90.
Since the electric power of the control circuit 30 is from the
self-generated electric power, if the discharge duration is shorter
than the predetermined threshold value, the control circuit 30
fails to send the alarm signal, as no self-generated electric power
exists. Therefore, an energy storage capacitor may be arranged in
the control circuit 30 or the rectification and voltage regulation
circuit 28. The energy storage capacitor can store the electric
power when the self-generated electric power exists and supply the
electric power to enable the control circuit 30 to send the alarm
signal when the self-generated electric power no longer exists.
Besides serving as a drive source or a reference signal for the
alarm element 29, the alarm signal may also drive a wired or
wireless transmission module, so that the wired or wireless
transmission module transmits the alarm signal to a remote central
console (for example, a monitoring unit) for subsequent processing.
Embodiments related to this part will be illustrated in detail
below.
Moreover, the detection result detected by the control circuit 30
may not only be the current discharge duration, but may also be,
but not limited to, a voltage value or a current value of the
self-generated electric power. A magnitude of the voltage value or
current value of the self-generated electric power is related to a
flow quantity and a flow velocity of the fluid discharged from the
discharge port 96. Therefore, likewise, after the steam trap 90 is
installed in the pipeline of the steam system, the voltage value or
current value during normal operation of the steam trap 90 is
continuously observed, and a threshold value allowing normal
operation is obtained by a statistical method and used as the
predetermined threshold value.
FIG. 6 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a second
embodiment of the present invention. As can be seen from FIG. 6,
the abnormal discharge alarm device 20 further comprises a signal
transfer module 32 and a monitoring unit 40. The monitoring unit 40
is electrically coupled to the signal transfer module 32.
The signal transfer module 32 is electrically coupled to the
control circuit 30. The signal transfer module 32 receives and
transmits the alarm signal. The monitoring unit 40 receives the
alarm signal transmitted by the signal transfer module 32 and sends
an alarm corresponding to the alarm signal. Normally, an external
electric power is supplied to the monitoring unit 40, so that the
monitoring unit 40 can continuously send an alarm upon reception of
the alarm signal until the maintainer confirms the alarm. A mode of
the alarm sent by the monitoring unit 40 may be, but not limited
to, lamp light display, screen display, short message sending or
acoustic alarm sending.
The signal transfer module 32 may be, but not limited to, a wired
transmission module or a wireless transmission module. The wireless
transmission module may be, but not limited to, a Bluetooth
communication element, a wireless network communication element
(for example, Zigbee), a general packet radio service (GPRS)
communication element, a personal handyphone system (PHS)
communication element, a code division multiple access (CDMA)
communication element, a wideband CDMA (WCDMA) communication
element or a global system for mobile communications (GSM)
communication element.
As shown in FIG. 6, the monitoring unit 40 comprises a controller
41, a signal transceiver module 42, and an alarm lamp 43. The
signal transceiver module 42 receives the alarm signal transmitted
from the signal transfer module 32 and provides the alarm signal to
the controller 41. After receiving the alarm signal, the controller
41 actuates the alarm lamp 43 to emit a light ray, so as to alarm a
maintainer, thereby achieving an effect of remote alarming.
In addition, the monitoring unit 40 may further comprise a memory
44, a display element 45, and an input element 46. The memory 44
may be, but not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) or an
EEPROM. The display element 45 may be, but not limited to, a liquid
crystal display (LCD) unit, a seven segment display, or a light
emitting diode (LED) display panel. The input element 46 may be a
keyboard or buttons for a user to operate the monitoring unit
40.
The controller 41 may store the received alarm signal in the memory
44 or display the alarm signal on the display element 45. The user
(for example, the maintainer) may query all records of the alarm
signal by using the input element 46 and the display element
45.
Moreover, the control circuit 30 can transmit the detection result
to the monitoring unit 40 through the signal transfer module 32.
The monitoring unit 40 collects and analyzes statistics regarding
the detection result to obtain an updated threshold value. Then,
the monitoring unit 40 can transmit the updated threshold value to
the control circuit 30 through the signal transfer module 32. The
control circuit 30 replaces the predetermined threshold value with
the received updated threshold value. In such a manner, the
predetermined threshold value of the control circuit 30 can be set
by a statistical method of the monitoring unit 40, and relatively
precise abnormal monitoring can be achieved.
According to this embodiment, the operation of the abnormal
discharge alarm device 20 may be divided into two modes, namely, a
learning mode and a monitoring mode. When the abnormal discharge
alarm device 20 and the steam trap 90 are initially installed in
the steam system and operate normally, the abnormal discharge alarm
device 20 is generally set to the learning mode. At this time, the
monitoring unit 40 of the abnormal discharge alarm device 20
collects the detection result transmitted from the control circuit
30. The detection result may be, but not limited to, a discharge
duration, a duration of each discharge, a voltage value in a
discharge interval, or a current value in the discharge
interval.
The controller 41 receives the detection result, and stores the
detection result in the memory 44 or displays the detection result
on the display element 45. Subsequently, after a certain period of
time or when the user switches the abnormal discharge alarm device
20 to the monitoring mode, the controller 41 analyzes statistics
regarding all the collected detection results to obtain a threshold
value. At this time, the threshold value obtained by the controller
41 may be threshold values of different physical quantities, for
example, but not limited to, a discharge duration range (an upper
limit and a lower limit), an intermittent frequency range of
discharge, a discharge voltage range, a discharge current range, or
an upper limit of non-discharge duration. The intermittent
frequency range means the number of times of discharges from the
same steam trap 90 per unit time (per hour or day) after statistics
is analyzed for a period of time. The intermittent frequency value
may also be replaced by a period, for example, in a normal state,
an upper limit and a lower limit value (a range) of a duration of
each discharge and stop (non-discharge). The discharge duration
range means a range (comprising upper and lower limits) of a normal
duration of each continuous discharge from the steam trap 90, which
is statistically obtained during normal discharge. For the upper
limit of non-discharge duration, during normal operation of the
steam trap 90, if the non-discharge duration exceeds the upper
limit, it indicates that blockage might occur to the steam trap
90.
When analyzing statistics regarding the detection result to obtain
the threshold value, the controller 41 may also perform outlier
removal and clustering processing on all the collected data first,
so as to obtain a more precise threshold value. In addition, in
order to prevent the abnormal discharge alarm device 20 from
sending the abnormal signal inappropriately, the controller 41 may
also add a safety coefficient to the statistically obtained
threshold value.
After the abnormal discharge alarm device 20 is switched from the
learning mode to the monitoring mode, the controller 41 obtains the
various threshold values and continuously receives real-time
discharge information (that is, the detection result) of the steam
trap 90 transmitted by the control circuit 30. When receiving the
detection result, the controller 41 compares the detection result
with the threshold value. When the detection result exceeds
(greater than or smaller than) the threshold value, the controller
41 sends an alarm. That is to say, when the monitoring unit 40 is
set to the monitoring mode, the monitoring unit 40 obtains an
intermittent frequency value according to the collected detection
result, and when the intermittent frequency value does not fall
within the intermittent frequency range, the monitoring unit 40
sends an intermittent abnormal signal. When the monitoring unit 40
obtains a discharge duration (duration of a single real-time
continuous discharge) according to the collected detection result
and the discharge duration does not fall within the discharge
duration range, the monitoring unit 40 sends a discharge abnormal
signal. When the monitoring unit 40 obtains a non-discharge
duration according to the collected detection result and the
non-discharge duration exceeds the upper limit of non-discharge
duration, the monitoring unit 40 sends a non-discharge abnormal
signal.
When the abnormal discharge alarm device 20 according to the second
embodiment in FIG. 6 is applied, whether an anomaly occurs can be
determined by the controller 41. In such a manner, the types of
anomalies that can be determined can be extended to detailed
physical characteristics of the various detection results, such as
voltage and current. It may even be determined whether the steam
trap 90 is blocked and stops operating for a long time. In such a
manner, the abnormal discharge alarm device 20 can achieve the
objective of monitoring the three different operating modes of the
steam trap 90.
FIG. 7 is a schematic circuit block diagram of an abnormal
discharge alarm device for a steam trap according to a third
embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the
abnormal discharge alarm device comprises a plurality of near-end
components 50a and 50b and a monitoring unit 40. Each of the
near-end components 50a and 50b may comprise the power generation
component, the control circuit 26, and the signal transfer module
32. The monitoring unit 40 may comprise the controller 41, the
signal transceiver module 42, the memory 44, the alarm lamp 43, the
display element 45, and the input element 46.
Each of the near-end components 50a and 50b is arranged at a steam
trap 90, so as to collect a detection result for each discharge
from the steam trap 90. The control circuit 30 of each of the
near-end components 50a and 50b transmits the collected detection
result to the monitoring unit 40 through the signal transfer module
32 in real time, and at the same time transmits an identifier (that
is, a number) of the near-end component 50a or 50b to the
monitoring unit 40. The monitoring unit 40 collects the detection
results of the steam traps 90 into different categories according
to the identifiers of the near-end components 50a and 50b. If the
user (or maintainer) controls the monitoring unit 40 to calculate
the threshold value or switch the abnormal discharge alarm device
20 from the learning mode to the monitoring mode, the controller 41
analyzes statistics regarding and obtains corresponding threshold
values according to the identifiers of the near-end components 50a
and 50b, respectively. That is to say, in this embodiment, each of
the near-end components 50a and 50b has a corresponding threshold
value, and each of the near-end components 50a and 50b may have a
plurality of threshold values, so as to monitor whether a real-time
discharge of the corresponding steam trap 90 is normal.
As can be seen from above, different functions can be realized in
different embodiments of the abnormal discharge alarm device 20.
The abnormal discharge alarm device 20 can generate a
self-generated electric power by using the fluid discharged by the
steam trap 90 and supply the self-generated electric power to the
control circuit 30 for use, so that control circuit 30 can send an
abnormal signal when determining that an anomaly occurs. In the
second embodiment, by additionally providing the monitoring unit
40, a plurality of abnormal states of the steam trap 90 can be
monitored and the predetermined threshold value can be updated
according to a normal operating state of the specific steam trap
90, so that the control circuit 30 can send an alarm signal more
accurately. In the third embodiment, a single monitoring unit 40 is
provided corresponding to a plurality of near-end components 50a
and 50b, and is used to monitor the steam traps 90 corresponding to
the near-end components 50a and 50b, thereby achieving effects of
energy saving and abnormal alarming.
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